Elder saxman feels blessed to keep playing

JERRY McCREA/THE STAR-LEDGER"When I'm on the bandstand and that downbeat comes, there's nothing wrong in this world," says Bill Phipps, which means the world will be a better place Friday night when the Newark Jazz Elders play The Priory.

As a pre-teen, the Newark native performed for Negro Baseball League games at Ruppert Satdium in Newark's Ironbound district. As a teenager, he was in a band led by his twin brother, pianist Nat Phipps, that at points included the now-great saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

Later, Phipps got to work with masters like Dizzy Gillespie and Brother Jack McDuff. He also played all the top clubs in Newark, when the scene was still dynamic.

Phipps, 76, continues to perform, from freelance jobs around Jersey to a weekly spot at Trinity and St. Philip's Church in Newark's Military Park.

"I've been blessed," says Phipps, now a West Orange resident. "When I'm on the bandstand and that downbeat comes, there's nothing wrong in this world." He appears Friday with the Newark Jazz Elders at The Priory in Newark.

The Elders -- all of whom are either from Newark, or played there during the 1950s-1970s heydays -- is a band run pro-bono by Star-Ledger staff writer Guy Sterling.

Phipps started playing clarinet at age seven, then took up saxophone around age 10. He was exposed to jazz by listening to 78 r.p.m. records by Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker and others.

Shorter played in a band with whom the Phipps brothers had "Battles of the Bands" showdowns at places like the Court Street YMCA. "They ran us out of there, playing pieces Miles Davis had recorded while we were playing 'Blue Moon,'" Phipps recalls.

But when he and Nat filled their book with hip tunes like Gillespie's challenging "Things to Come," Shorter joined their group. Later, Shorter and Phipps were colleagues while studying at New York University, where Phipps earned a degree in Music Education in 1959. That year, he began teaching in the Newark public school system, retiring in 1992. He still mentors students at Arts High School.

From the mid-1960s, Phipps -- who, as an itinerant teacher, worked at a different school each day -- began to focus on his performing career. On a tip from saxophonist Terry, he attended an audition for Gillespie's big band and, because he knew "Things to Come," he got the gig. He played with Dizzy and such bandmates as James Moody at the Newport Jazz Festival, and other spots.

"I was tickled pink," he says of the experience.

Then came a stint with R&B singer Lloyd Price, whose band included saxophonist George Coleman. "He taught me what jazz soloing is all about," Phipps says.

Later came a tour with organ great McDuff and gigs at such Newark spots as the Key Club and Sparky J's.

Of The Elders, Phipps says, "It's one of the best things going. We need to feed jazz back into the community, and relate to people what it was like back then."

Zan Stewart is the Star-Ledger's jazz writer. He is also a musician who occasionally performs at local clubs. He may be reached at zstewart@starledger.com or at (973) 324-9930.